Hadith About Patience: 7 Authentic Hadith on Sabr

Bad news rarely waits for a good moment. A phone call, a test result, a loss we did not expect. In those first minutes, what we say and do matters more than we think. Every hadith about patience in this article comes back to that moment. Here are seven authentic hadith on sabr, with a dua to say when a calamity strikes.

1. Patience is at the first stroke

Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ passed by a woman weeping at a grave and told her to fear Allah and be patient. Not knowing who he was, she told him to go away, since he had not suffered her loss. When she was told it was the Prophet ﷺ, she went to his house to apologize, and he said:

Muslim reports it too (Sahih Muslim 926). Anyone becomes calm after some time has passed. The patience that is rewarded is the one we show at the first shock, before the pain fades. Notice also that the Prophet ﷺ did not scold her when she came back: he only taught her. HadeethEnc explains it further.

Try this: decide now what you will say the next time bad news comes, so the first words are ready (see hadith 3).

2. How amazing is the believer’s affair

Suhaib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated why a believer never loses.

Patience and gratitude are two sides of the same faith. We look at gratitude more closely in our article on the hadith about gratitude.

Try this: tonight, name one blessing to thank Allah for and one difficulty to be patient with.

3. The dua when a calamity strikes

Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) heard the Prophet ﷺ say that any Muslim struck by a calamity who says what Allah commanded, these words, will be given something better in exchange.

In the same hadith, Umm Salamah said that when her husband Abu Salamah died, she wondered which Muslim could be better than him. She said the dua anyway, and Allah gave her the Prophet ﷺ himself as her husband.

Try this: learn the dua by heart this week, even before you need it.

4. A sign that Allah wants good for you

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated this short hadith.

A trial is not always a sign of Allah’s anger. For a believer who is patient, it can be a sign of His care: a way to raise him and wipe away his sins.

Try this: when you face a hardship, ask yourself what good Allah may be bringing through it, and make dua for it.

5. Greater reward comes with greater trial

Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated it.

The trial is the same for both people; what differs is how they meet it. Contentment does not mean we stop feeling pain. It means we do not turn against Allah’s decree. HadeethEnc explains this hadith in more detail.

Take heed: complaining to Allah in dua is not discontent. Complaining about Allah is.

6. The prophets were tested the most

Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that a man asked the Prophet ﷺ which people are tested most severely. He said:

If the best of people faced the hardest trials, then our own trials do not mean Allah has forgotten us. They are part of the path every believer walks.

Try this: read about the trials of a prophet this week, such as Ayyub or Yusuf (peace be upon them), and notice how they stayed patient.

7. No gift is better than patience

Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that some of the Ansar kept asking the Prophet ﷺ until he had nothing left to give. Then he said, as part of a longer hadith:

Muslim reports it too (Sahih Muslim 1053). Patience is not only something we are born with: it grows when we try. The first part of the same hadith, about contentment, is in our article on qana’ah.

Try this: the next time you feel impatient, hold back your first reaction for a minute and ask Allah to make you patient.

Bringing it together: good news for the patient

The Quran tells us that trials will come, and who receives the good news:

Reflection: I notice that the words in the verse are the same words in the dua of Umm Salamah. The Quran tells us what the patient say, and the Sunnah teaches us to add: “O Allah, reward me, and give me something better.” Patience in Islam is not silent endurance. It is turning to Allah at the very moment it hurts.

Questions people ask

Key lessons

• Patience that counts is shown at the first shock of a calamity (Bukhari 1283).
• A believer gains in good times and bad: gratitude in one, patience in the other (Muslim 2999).
• When a calamity strikes, say: “We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return. O Allah, reward me and give me better” (Muslim 918).
• Greater reward comes with greater trial, and the prophets were tested most (Tirmidhi 2396, 2398).
• Whoever tries to be patient, Allah makes him patient (Bukhari 1469).

If you are going through something hard today, may Allah give you patience at the first stroke, reward you for it, and replace it with something better.

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